Alonso has often looked frustrated this year as runaway leaders Mercedes have dominated the championship. German Nico Rosberg and Briton Lewis Hamilton are locked in a tense duel for the drivers' title.

He said: "Our season has been frustrating because we had high hopes with this year’s new regulations and, starting from zero with all the other teams, we thought we could have an advantage with all our facilities and input from everybody."

He added: "We are further away from the leaders than during any other season this year, we are sometimes one-and-a-half seconds away from Mercedes."

Straight from the Spaniard's mouth

It was a "tough year" for Ferrari and F1.

In his words: "We are not competitive and... it is quite boring to drive the car...

"It is too slow and too heavy and we are not able to have the noise that we used to enjoy." - Reuters